Hope you had a great summer!

Last month I talked about lessons learned from the recent reduction of crime in Over-the-Rhine.  This month, I want to talk about another lesson learned--that the best results come when officials can work across jurisdictions and party lines without worrying about who gets credit, and when those officials work directly with the community to get things done.

Two great examples of such work are described in the News Items below:

One is the partnership we've created to battle foreclosures in Hamilton County.  While the challenge is daunting (and growing), we have seen initial success (saving 181 homes in six months!) largely because so many community groups came together with a great idea of how to move forward, and the County and City worked together to initially support their effort. 

Now we are seeing numerous other elected officials stepping in, across party lines, to help even more.  Greg Hartmann, the Clerk of Courts, has just begun playing a pivotal role in communicating vital information to those facing a foreclosure, while Councilman Jeff Berding is pushing to provide more information to the public about what "bad deals" to avoid. Attorney General Mark Dann's office is pushing for tougher enforcement of laws against predatory lenders.  And Treasurer Rich Cordray's office is about to get involved.  This effort has become so much stronger because so many community activists and elected officials have come together in one partnership.

A second example is the "probation substation" effort (see below for details).  To effectively locate probation substations in various communities, it takes a partnership between numerous governmental bodies-City, County, judges, probation leadership.  And it is one that is primarily driven by the communities themselves.  This is exactly the type of partnership that is taking place.

Several years ago, leaders in Avondale, Price Hill, College Hill and Northside came together and wanted to find a way to have substations in their community.  I met with them at City Hall, and then we began meeting with leaders at the Courthouse to see how we could pursue the effort.  While it's taken some time, it looks like this partnership is about to pay off for all three communities (and three more as well), with the judges and probation office energized to expand to those neighborhoods.

Bottom line: Getting things done in government these days is complicated, and at the local level especially, it usually takes a number of decisions by any number of decisionmakers to move things forward.  Citizens should expect and demand good-faith cooperation among these officials, and if they do, they will get far better results-whether it's big projects like the Banks, or important issues that improve community quality of life. 

Expansion of Probation Substations To Three Communities

Very simply, probation "substations" make communities safer.  Having proactive probation officers located in communities, as opposed to a centralized office downtown, is a "best practice" that reduces rates of recidivism and crime.  "If probationers know their probation officers are in the area and could appear, question, and search them at any time, probationers have a real incentive to stay on the right track, and out of trouble," David said. 

Because of their success, David has championed increasing the number of such substations for years, meeting with probation officials as a Councilman and pushing for strategic locations in Price Hill, Avondale, and College Hill/Northside.  Seeing their success, the judges (who ultimately control where they go) and probation department have recently begun moving rapidly to put them in those locations.  Price Hill's opened last month.  Avondale is teaming up with North Avondale to have a joint substation.  And North College Hill will also be part of the College Hill/Northside effort.

"This is great news for all six communities," Pepper said.

County Appoints Economic Advisory Cabinet

With a tough budget cycle approaching in an already stagnant economic environment, the Hamilton County Commissioners formed the Cabinet of Economic Advisors (CEA).  Our goal is to seek the guidance of business, civic and community leaders to help us chart the economic strategies that will grow our County.  Key goals are to generate actions plans on how to best take advantage of the "new economy" opportunities in the region, how to grow County revenue through increased business activity, and how to ensure that the workers of the County benefit from the economic growth that takes place.  More to come on this important work.

Comprehensive Safety Plan - We Need YOUR Help

With the Comprehensive Safety Plan on the November ballot (it will be Issue 27), now is the time for citizens to get involved with our mission to make Hamilton County a safer community through a comprehensive set of investments and reforms.  A group called Citizens for a Safe Community is organizing the campaign effort, and will be working hard over the next two months to make sure citizens receive all the facts about the proposed plan and the lack of any viable alternative.  THEY WANT AND NEED YOUR HELP!   Are you willing to put up a yard sign?  Are you part of a community group or organization that would like to learn more about the Plan?  Would you like to volunteer to be part of the effort?  We want to hear from you. For now, send an email to justaddpepper@davidpepper.com to get involved. 

With everyone's help, we can make Hamilton County a safer place for all of us.